Could Australia Get a New Flag?

A new Australian national flag has been proposed to replace the current design of a blue field with the Union Jack and six stars, in an effort to “move on” from the country’s British heritage, reports the Daily Telegraph.

John Blaxland, a military historian from the Australian National University who created the new flag with the help of a graphic artist, says he wanted the design to be as evocative as Canada’s maple-leaf flag, reports MSN News. Taking elements from the country’s Aboriginal heritage, the proposed flag includes a seven-pointed star filled with 250 dots to represent Australia’s indigenous languages as well as the tongues of its millions of immigrants. Next to the star is a red section in the shape of a boomerang bordered with a white stripe.

So far, the flag has received mixed reviews, reports Sky News Australia, but Blaxland says it’s bound to be controversial because it combines so many different elements.

“People can identify with various parts of it and see that Australia is actually a multicultural place with a rich history that reaches back for generations,” he told the Telegraph.

“I get the significance of the current flag, I get the significance of the Union Jack. I also get that a lot of people don’t like it. I think we need to find a compromise, something that is going to be inclusive and appeals to all Australians.”

Blaxland has made one concession to the original flag, notes the Telegraph, in the form of a white stripe that echoes the Union Jack. “We can move on, we can reflect on our history but also acknowledge in the design … that we can’t completely trash the British heritage,” he said.

There is already a separate campaign, AusFlag, which recently created a green, gold, blue and white flag that it plans to unfurl at major sporting events and hopes to have raised as the official flag in Olympic medal ceremonies, reports the Australian.

The proposal for a new flag comes as Australia’s Deputy Prime Minister Wayne Swan is renewing calls for Australia to become a republic. Meanwhile, the legacy of colonialism lingers:Aboriginal protesters outside parliament recently set light to the Australian flag and spat on it while chanting, “Always was, always will be Aboriginal land,” as the Daily Mail reports.

OI OI AUSSIE AUSSIE CHANGE BOTH FLAGS GETTING OF THE BLOODY UNION JACK WHY IS THE YANKS HAVE A UNION JACK ON ITS FLAG THERE OLDER ONE I SAW IN A BANK OF AMERICA WHY THE UNION JACK ON A YANK FLAG LIKE HAWAII HAS WHY IS THAT THE OZ AND KIWI FLAGS TAKE OFF THE JACK USE A KOALA, SALTY, OLD BOOMBER , ABO ART AND THE KIWI BRID ON NEW ZEALANDS FLAG AND ABO MAROI ART AND KIWIBRID

I like the idea, just not the product. I would flip it upside down for a start. Basic graphic design, or rule of "divine proportion". Have the blue which takes up the most space on the left of the flag, the boomerang on the right. However, the Australian Flag is such an iconic and recognizable flag, I would really mess with it. A mention to our Aboriginal heritage is a nice thing, but I think for it in to what we have already. If taking modern ideas instead, the Aboriginal colours and boomerang would work well with our sports motif The boxing Kangaroo.

As a Canadian who remembers how our political flag was arrived at, I can only hope that Australia doesn't remove the ties to Britain in any new flag. I think yours and the NZ flag are great. Our prime minister at the time of our "flag debates" made up his mind that, no matter what the majority of real Canadians (as opposed to those who just got off the boat) wanted, he would completely remove all ties to the mother country. So what do have? A red and white flag, whose only symbolism is a maple leaf that isn't even the Canadian maple! He even removed the proposed blue stripes on each end (our motto does include "from sea to sea"), because it might lose him the non-Brit vote. So what we now have has no history, no tradition, just a damned tree leaf. Don't fall for it, Australia - you have a proud history - keep it!

I think Australia is not the only country seeking identity for the 21st century and beyond... Great Britain wants to work together with the European Union but doesn't want to become more integrated into the EU which is on the path towards politcial union and the United States of Europe. It's a shame the UK isn't globally positioned next to Australia and Canada because we share so much heritage and culture and think alike. Maybe a Commonwealth Union to counter-balance the European Union and the United Sates? Because already if I'm not mistaken the UK has combined it's diplomatic embassies around the world with Canada, and possibly Australia and New Zealand too. Lets think outside the box when debating these things.

What an ugly, ridiculous flag. Im also struggling to understand how "Aboriginal culture" is more relevant to Australia than Great Britain, a country that the vast majority of Australians have links to and a country who we base our entire political system and legal system on and is the basis for our system of beliefs and way of life. Aboriginal culture has absolutely zero affect on my life, however Great Britain influences every part of life every day.

I am an Aussie of British heritage, so I see nothing wrong with it. At the opening ceremony of the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games when the flags of the world were displayed I loved the way our flag really stood out amongst the other flags with its red, white and blue colours. I would like to point out that the flag of President Obama's home state Hawaii has the Union Jack in its corner.

As a Scotsman it gave me immense pride to see the Union Jack of GB, The Australian flag and the New Zealand flying at the same time during the Olympics at multiple events medal ceremony's.

It would sadden me if Australia removed from it's flag a sign of it's ties to the UK, by all means add Aboriginal influence to the current design i.e. small version of that boomerang flying over the stars?! Australia isn't a colony and I don't know a single Brit that believes that it is, instead the Australian flag is a reminder of how close we are as people, that we share ancestry as well as the ties we have together throughout history. To me the Australian flag is a reminder that Britain was rejected by those whom came from it, lived with it & served it. It indicated a need for huge change in Britain's political mindset as well as being symbolic of a country which stood up for it's self. It seems like a rewriting of history is going on here and I personally find it dishonoring for the brave Australian men that fought along side us in every war, as well as overly flattering and frankly condescending to Aboriginal influence within Australia.

It seems bizarre to me as well as sad that Australia feels it needs to remove a huge part of it's foundation, ancestry and history in order to represent those very things.

Why not just add an Aboriginal design/symbol to the current flag to complete the story?

Reject the "Royals" if you want to shake some needless British influence from Australia but don't turn your back on your history with us, the people of Britain, it just doesn't seem very friendly to me. I'd go as far as to say insulting.

It is time for Australia to have a new flag, or at least an update of the old one, but this proposed design is terrible. It looks dated already, and the green and gold stars are cringeworthy. Hopefully some better options will come up that will include the first people of Australia in a less... $2 tourist shop way.

OI BLOKE THE YANK PRESIDENT IS NOT FROM HAWAII HES FROM AFRICA KENYA I DON'T KNOW WHY HAWAII IS THE ONLY STAT WITH THE LIMEY LOGO ON IT THEY YANKS SHOULD TAKE IT OFF THE HAWAIIAN FLAG GETTING REDED OF THE UNIONJACK FOR ONE WE ARE NOT UNDER THE IRON POMB OF THE QUEEN TIS TIME TO CHANGE BOTH COUNTY OZ AND KIWI LAND

Are you for real seajay80... Australia is an independent country, it will never, ever become the 51st state of America in this life or the next. I got a better suggestion, why doesn't America become part of Australia? lol, because the statement you made is ignorant, showing a complete lack of respect for the country of Australia and it's people. Surely, his comment must be a hoax because I can't understand why he would say such a thing.